Kevin Bridges

Kevin Bridges
Birth name Kevin Andrew Bridges
Born (1986-11-13) 13 November 1986
Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Medium Stand-up, television, radio
Years active 2002–present
Notable works and roles 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Would I Lie to You?
Live at the Apollo
Mock the Week
Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?

Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish comedian. He has appeared on many comedy television shows including Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You and has performed at Live at the Apollo. The series Kevin Bridges: What's the Story? was based on his stand-up routines.

Career

Stand-up

Bridges began performing on the small stage when he left school shortly after turning 17, doing stand-up comedy gigs at The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow and then throughout the UK. Bridges said he was inspired to try stand up after reading Frank Skinner's autobiography. At 18, he reached the final of Channel 5's So You Think You're Funny competition at the Edinburgh Fringe.[1] In 2006 Bridges performed his first full length solo show at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, to a sold out audience and much critical acclaim. Moving into bigger venues every year, Bridges continued to sell out his hometown festival in 2007, 2008 and 2009.[2] He performed at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Bridges appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow on the BBC, where he performed at the Edinburgh Playhouse.[3][4]

In 2010, Bridges took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London.[5]

His debut DVD, titled Kevin Bridges: The Story So Far... Live in Glasgow, filmed at Glasgow's SECC in front of a sold out audience of 10,000,[6] was released on 22 November 2010.[7]

Bridges second stand-up tour The Story Continues... broke box office records by selling 45,000 tickets in one day for his run at the SECC in Glasgow.[8] He went on to play a total of 9 sell out dates at the SECC as part of a 136 date tour.[9]

In 2015, Bridges embarked on his third stand-up tour of the UK, A Whole Different Story. The tour saw Bridges sell over 500,000 tickets across 145 dates including 16 sell out shows at The Hydro in his home city. During which he recorded his third DVD which went on to sell over 300,000 copies.[10] The tour also won awards from Ticketmaster and Ents24 for Fastest Selling Comedy Tour of the year.[11]

Television

Bridges' television career started on Comedy Central UK, in April 2008, with a set on The World Stands Up. Shortly thereafter, he appeared on Comedy Store (also on Comedy Central). His performances on these shows and on the comedy circuit and at festivals led to his being given his first mainstream TV break on 5 June 2009 on BBC One's Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. Bridges was critically commended for his performance. Over 5 million viewers saw his debut and his entire 25-night run at the Edinburgh festival sold out in hours, with extra shows being subsequently added and also selling out. Bridges went on to be nominated for the 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly Perrier) in the best newcomer category. His TV work since then has included BBC One's Live at the Apollo and also a "Best of British Special" (Episode 7 of the 8th series) of 8 out of 10 Cats, in July 2009. He also appeared in BBC 2 Scotland's Gary: Tank Commander (episode 6). Bridges appeared in Rab C Nesbitt in the first episode of the new series in 2010, on Mock the Week in February 2010, and has appeared twice in Would I Lie To You?.[12][13] He was a guest on the BBC One show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 28 May 2010. Since June 2010, Bridges is a regular performer on Channel 4's Stand Up for the Week.[14] His six-part BBC One series, Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?, began on 8 February 2012. Bridges was asked to appear in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, but turned it down.[15]

Radio

On 6 March 2010, Bridges took part in the BBC 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where he came second behind Greg Brady, becoming the youngest person ever to appear on the show at the time (a record since broken by fellow comedian Jack Whitehall). In November 2010, he was also a contestant on BBC Radio 4's The Unbelievable Truth.

Personal life

Bridges is the son of Andy and Patricia Bridges and has a brother, John, who is ten years older.[16] He grew up in the Hardgate area of Clydebank and attended St Mary's Primary and St Columba's High.[16][17] He left school when he was 16.[18] He later studied social sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University.[19][20]

Bridges took part in the Soccer Aid 2014 charity football match in aid of Unicef on the Rest of the World team. He gave up drinking alcohol for a year in 2014.[21]

Stand-up DVDs

Title Released Notes
The Story So Far...Live in Glasgow 22 November 2010 Live at Glasgow's SECC
The Story Continues... 12 November 2012 Live at Glasgow's SECC
A Whole Different Story 23 November 2015 Live at Glasgow's Hydro Arena

References

  1. ↑ "Kevin Bridges". The Comedy Club Ltd. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Kevin Bridges". Off the Kerb. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Kevin Bridges Artist Home Page". Off The Kerb Productions. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Michael McIntyre – The Invention of the Kilt". BBC Comedy. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Channel 4's Comedy Gala" (Press release). Channel 4. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Kevin Bridges at the SECC" (Press release). Chrotle. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kevin Bridges DVD". Play.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Scots Funnyman Kevin Bridges rises to fifth on rich-list of UK's comedians with a fortune of £4.2 million". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kevin Bridges added another TWO dates to Glasgow shows - get tickets online now". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "KEVIN BRIDGES: THE BRAND NEW TOUR IS ON SALE NOW". Off the Kerb. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Kevin Bridges added another TWO dates to Glasgow shows - get tickets online now". Off the Kerb. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "BBC One – Would I Lie to You?, Series 4, Episode 3". BBC. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "BBC One – Would I Lie to You?, Series 5, Episode 2". BBC. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Sweney, Mark (14 June 2010). "Channel 4 lines up topical standup show hosted by Patrick Kielty". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Kevin Bridges reveals gambling problem : News 2014 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Interview: Comedian Kevin Bridges- The best since Billy Connolly?". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 21 November 2010.
  17. ↑ Kevin Bridges speaks to the Gazette – Local Headlines. Lanark Gazette (22 October 2010). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  18. ↑ Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?, 22 February 2012
  19. ↑ The irrestistible rise of Kevin Bridges – top star in one year – News. The Scotsman. (9 August 2010). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  20. ↑ Donaldson, Brian. (20 May 2010) Five things you might not know about: Kevin Bridges. The List. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  21. ↑ "Kevin Bridges: 'I prefer real to surreal' | Stage". The Guardian. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
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